Barber&#39;s comb



H. L. HIGGINS BARBER'S COMB March 3, 1942.

Filed Oct. 8, 1941 INVENTOR ATTO R N EYS Patented Mar. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BARBERS COMB Howard L. Higgins, Leesburg, Ohio Application October 8, 1941,Se'rial No. 414,201

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a barbers comb and has for an object to provide a comb which will eliminate the possibility of cutting any excessive amount of hair on a straight line or over the same straight edge to eliminate the possibility of nicking the hair, and to provide a comb which will remove nicks once they have been made by clippers or otherwise.

Hitherto combs have been proposed in which shallow kerfs of the same depth alternate with deeper kerfs of the same depth to provide different partitions between the teeth over which hair may be cut in different planes or straight edges, but such combs have proved unsatisfactory because they do not eliminate possibility of ridges being formed in the hair. With this disadvantage in mind the present invention provides a comb in which the teeth are arranged in groups of four or more, and each kerf changes in depth from the deepest one in the wide end of the comb to the shallowest one in the narrow end of the comb so that there are no two kerfs in the comb of exactly the same depth, thus,

when the comb is run through the hair, the hair will project over the partitions between the teeth formed by the bottoms of the kerfs in a multitude of different planes arranged in zigzag staggered relation so that side slipping of the hair in the comb is eliminated and the possibility of an excessive amount of hair being cut on or over a single plane in the nature of a straight edge is positively eliminated.

"A further object is to provide apparatus of this character which will be formed of one strong, simple and durable part, which will be inexpensive to manufacture, and which will not easily get out of order.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a barbers comb constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figures 2-5, inclusive, are cross sectional views of the comb taken respectively on the line 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, and 5-5 of Figure 1 showing diagrammatically the relatively difierent depths of the kerfs.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of referenc designate similar parts in the various views, use has been made of index lines to more clearly explain the structure of the comb I4 having teeth l5.

The comb tapers from a wide end to a narrow end so that the points of the teeth are on a line which converges toward the back edge of the comb. The principle of forming. the teeth is best clarified by considering the depths of the kerfs from the basic line which passes over the points of the teeth, just described. The bottoms of the kerfs are designated by index lines l0l0, H-l l, I 2l2, and l3-l3, extending longitudinally of the comb and spaced at different distances from the basic line passing through points of the teeth. These index lines are not parallel but converge from the wide end of the comb toward the narrow end of the comb and this feature is of importance in bringing about the final result that there are no two kerfs of identical depth.

In forming the kerfs, the kerf I at the wide end of the comb extends to the index line |0I0 farthest from the basic line through the points of the teeth and is the full depth of the longest tooth. The next kerf 2 extends to the next farthest index lin [1-1 I and is the depth of kerf l. The next kerf 3 extends to the next farthest index line I2-l2 and is of the depth of kerf l. The next kerf 4 extends to the index line l3--l3 nearest the basic line through the points of the teeth and is the depth of kerf l. The depths of the kerfs for the next four teeth are reversed from the order just described. This principle follows on down the length of the comb and as a result when the last group of four teeth are reached at the small end of the comb, kerf 5 extends to the index line Ill-40 and is the full depth of the shortest tooth, kerf 6 extends to the index line l||l and is the depth of kerf 5, kerf I extends to the index line IZ-IZ and is the depth of kerf 5, and kerf 8 extends to the index line I3--I3 and is A the depth of kerf 5.

Since the index lines, as before mentioned, are wider apart at the wide end of the comb and gradually come closer together as they approach the small end of the comb, successive kerfs change in depth from the deepest one in the Wide end of the comb to the shallowest one in the narrow end of the comb. The terminology deepest and shallowest here is meant to apply to the kerfs which reach the index line l0l0 and the index line l3-l3, respectively farthest from and nearest to the basic line which runs through the points of the teeth.

The teeth l5 are arranged in groups of six in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, although groups of four may be used. The straight parallel edges formed by the inner 'ends of the kerfs are stepped or staggered throughout each group due to the varying depths of the kerfs from deep at the ends of the group to shallow at the center of the group, as determined by the ratio of depths heretofore described in detail. Hence shorter teeth will be produced at group.

In operation when the comb is run through. the

hair against the direction in which the hair is will be cut over a multitude of different straight parallel edges, formed by inner ends of the kerfs, staggered relatively to each other, and no two of which are exactly the same distance from the points of the teeth.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

A barbers comb including a back and teeth, there being kerfs between the teeth terminating at the inner ends in respective straight edges which are parallel and stepped or staggered, the

teeth being arranged in groups of four or more A and the stepped or staggered inner ends of the trained the hair will be parted by the teeth and will project over the zigzag contour of the par titions between the teeth so that the hair mayv kerfs producing sh'orter teeth at the center of 'thegroup than at the ends of the group.

HOWARD L. HIGGINS. 

